We are Broken, We are Whole, We are Legend
by sweetcheesecake
Summary: Sasuke's life changed the day Itachi slaughtered everyone in his clan. Happy memories faded and dreams of revenge took their place. When one memory resurfaces by an encounter with a forgotten friend, he starts to question his dreams and realize others.
1. Chapter 1

The child was beautiful, the woman remembered, recognizing the figure hunched a few yards in front of her. Her eyes were a shining emerald green, illuminated mysteriously by the light. Her figure was thin and pale, her hands, tiny. She was six, but she looked only four.

As she shifted, the moonlight fell on her face. The elderly woman started, realizing strands of rich, red hair were falling over the little girl's face as she hunched over something.

It was strange, the woman thought. She could have sworn that this girl had had pink hair just a few days before. Yes, she was sure, because it was the exact same shade as the cherry blossoms.

The elderly woman came closer to the little girl and reached out a hand to touch her on the shoulder, only for her hand to stutter to a stop in midair.

As the girl looked up, she stared with blank empty eyes, the usual shining emerald, dulled. Streaks of red covered her face. Her tiny hand clasped another, larger and paler.

Her mother's, the woman realized. She had seen them just a few days before, in the park, under the gentle sheet of falling cherry blossoms.

With an increasing sense of horror, the woman's eyes fell to the dagger embedded in the body of the young girl's mother.

Her mouth opened in a choked cry as she realized it was blood that dyed the child's beautiful sakura hair red.

**.**

**.**

**.**

My life is a whirlwind of dreams, dreams, dreams. I wonder if they're even real.

Maybe.

Maybe.

_Maybe..._

**.**

**.**

**.**

Maybe, it's better to never have existed.

**.**

**.**

**. Part 1: We are Legend**

Sakura woke up with a start, sitting up suddenly, her mouth open in a soundless scream that quickly turned into gasps. Her heart beating painfully fast, she willed her breaths to even out and her fists to unclench from their tight grip on her blankets. One of her hands came up to run harshly through her hair as her lips pulled down into an irritated frown.

"Damn nightmares."

Her hand started to pull roughly through her hair, untangling the scrawl of silky pink strands. Brilliant emerald eyes closed as she brought her hands down on her lap. Slowly, hesitantly, she opened her eyes.

Her small, petite hands were pale and white, the skin smooth and unblemished. Sakura sighed softly and flopped back down on her back.

_M-Mother._

She closed her eyes and frowned again.

_-/static/-_

_Do it -zzzt-_

_D-Do it -zzzzt- for m-me._

_-/static/-_

_MOTHER!_

Still, she couldn't shake off the feeling that blood was staining her hands.

.

.

**Chapter 1: The Legend**

Sasuke scowled down at the picture of a smiling pink haired girl.

"She's the Legend?"

Something pricked at him at the back of his consciousness.

"_You love your mother."_

"_Yes."_

"_So you would do anything for her?"_

-/static/-

Tsunade waved her hand dismissively before taking a large drink of sake. "After two long years of searching, we finally have a location of her whereabouts. Go on now. You have a mission to complete."

Sasuke's scowl deepened and Naruto beside him jumped forward.

"Baa-chan, are you sure you gave us the right file? This chick's a child! She can't be the Legend. She probably hasn't even hit puberty yet!" the blond protested.

Tsunade glowered fiercely at Naruto but the man did not shrink back.

"Baa-chan, you can't make us kill a kid!"

The Hokage shot one last glare at Naruto before taking another long drink from her sake bottle. She wiped her mouth sloppily, then slammed her hand down.

"Firstly, you're not going to kill her unless necessary, idiot. Chances are, she might be willing to join Konoha. Secondly, our research has shown she is around your age and she _is_ the Legend."

Sasuke scoffed. "She looks nothing of it."

_I like your smile._

_Will you-_

_-/static/-_

_Pinky swear._

_Two small hands interloped at the pinky and two tiny thumbs pressed together._

Naruto nodded in agreement. "I thought it was going to be a big, buff man...not this little scrawny chick."

The Hokage scowled. "Either way, do not underestimate her. She has felled elite without earning so much as a scratch. No blood has ever stained her hands; no one has even gotten close to her. She is quick and deadly. I repeat, do not underestimate her or it is you and Konoha that will fall," the Hokage warned.

Naruto quieted and Sasuke stayed silent, both recognizing the serious and urgent tone of the Hokage.

"I am confident in your abilities to confront her but if you two are cocky, you will fail. Mark my words, it will take the both of you to bring her down so do not let your arrogance kill you. You must deal with her before Orochimaru or Akatsuki reach her first. A lot is at stake here."

The two anbu nodded. The Hokage closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.

"Remember, if she does not come with you, you must kill her."

_I like your smile._

"Hn."

"Hai."

Silence, then, solemn yet gentle hazel eyes opened.

"Make sure to come back."

Two respectful bows and they were gone.

**-x-**

"You sure about this, brat?"

There was an amused chuckle.

"Have faith in them, Hokage. You said so yourself. You have confidence in their abilities."

"Why can't you just bring her here?"

"The Legend tolerates me, but she will bow to no one. She does not like to be near people. I would not be able to bring her back."

"So you're saying she has to be taken by force."

The masked man ran a hand through his hair wearily. "You will not win by force. That is why I recommended you send those two. There's something about them that can change a person."

The blond frowned. "Yes, but from what you have told me of the Legend, I wonder if they are able to bring her back."

"The Legend is not a bad person. I rather liked her myself. I don't know why you're threatening to kill her."

Tsunade sighed. "Only if she doesn't cooperate. Only if she doesn't cooperate, Kakashi!"

Kakashi laughed. "The Legend is a legend. She does not understand herself. I think those two will help her find herself."

"Well, if those three don't find their way back here, it's yourself you should worry about. I'll have your head," Tsunade scolded.

The man smirked. "You'll have to catch me first."

"You think I can't see your arrogant smirk, brat. But I see it. It's in your eyes."

Kakashi bowed and then he too was gone.

**-x-**

"The Legend, 5'2", 115 pounds."

Naruto stopped. "Damn, she's heavy for her size." There was a short pause as he examined the picture. "That's strange, she looks so skinny."

Sasuke slapped the back of the blonde's head as he walked past. "Idiot. Muscle is heavier than fat."

Naruto whistled. "She has a killer body. Look, I never noticed before! She has pretty curves."

Sasuke slapped him again.

Naruto glared at him then put a finger to his chin. "Then baa-chan was probably right. She does look around 19, judging by the size of her chest."

He dodged another one of Sasuke's irritated swats.

"Shut up, dobe, and concentrate on the mission."

"Hey, hey, teme, I'm debriefing you. We need to know what she looks like if we want to catch her."

"Dobe. She has pink hair. We'd spot her from a mile away."

"HAH teme, I bet you never thought that she could dye her hair! And you call yourself the Uchiha prodigy. Tch."

"Idiot. Tsunade told us she strays away from people. She doesn't like to come in contact with them; she wouldn't have gone into town to buy dye. She's adept at hiding herself, that's why no one can find her."

Naruto scowled. "Great. Another anti-social teme."

Sasuke resisted the urge to smack the dobe again and instead, ignored the jibe.

"So, why is it so important for us to catch the Legend anyway. She didn't harm anyone of Konoha."

Sasuke grimaced. He did not like explaining this because he never entirely agreed with what the Hokage and the council decided.

"The Legend is a potential threat. Even if she has done nothing now, it is possible for her to do so in the future."

Naruto frowned. "Sasuke, you read about the Legend. She's never done anything to harm civilians. The only time she's ever killed is to _protect_ them."

Sasuke frowned also. "Hn.."

"Then why do we need to kill her?" Naruto insisted. "It's not right."

Sasuke sighed. "If Sound and its alliance get their hands on her, we might lose the war."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "She can't be that strong, can she? So much to change the outcome of a war? I mean, everyone makes her sound so cool and strong. It's just a name, I bet."

That earned him another unexpected swat. "HEY!"

Sasuke continued walking. "Remember what Tsunade said. If you want to keep your head on your shoulders, do not underestimate her. Good or not, she's still a killer."

Naruto sobered. "Still a killer," he murmured, his voice tinged with traces of pain. "Just like us."

Sasuke's expression hardened.

"Hn. Just like us."

**-x-**

Sakura flipped awkwardly up from the sleeping bag in response to the high chakra signatures headed her way. She cursed silently, berating herself for not lowering her own signature. As she scrambled to stuff the little things she owned into her pack, she vehemently cursed the day she stumbled across the orphanage just outside of Sound.

Well, it wasn't exactly an orphanage. It was more of a slave registration headquarters where children were being sold off into slavery for the shinobi of Sound. Sakura had unknowingly stepped onto their land when she was 15 and had nearly been taken captive herself. Having trekked for a long day over foreign land, her temper was at its blowing point and she had knocked around the guards there harder than necessary. She had taken the liberty of liberating every child there and burning down the whole operation and its headquarters.

Yes, Sakura knew she brought down a whole earth of trouble on herself but it was worth saving the children.

Swiftly, she counted the chakras approaching. There were ten in the front, all very high. She grimaced. They never sent that much at a time. But what worried her most were the elite chakra signatures behind them. Counting carefully, she arrived at the number six.

The pink-headed girl stilled. That…never happened. Always, always, there were only two to back the other up, three at most.

She was lucky that night, Sakura admitted. There was no one at shinobi level there that night or otherwise she would have failed. But after she botched Sound's slave operation, she was wanted. Sound was pissed.

Sakura sighed in frustration. She knew she was skilled. She had strength, but she didn't pose that much a threat did she? She didn't do anything to piss them off after that, so why were they still after her?

Her pink head popped up from her packing as she sensed the chakras come closer with alarming speed. Frowning, she threw on her cloak and pulled the hood low over her head. If she could avoid confrontation, she would, but they were too close for that to happen. But if she fought…she would probably get injured.

If she could run, she would try. She did not want any blood on her hands.

With one last look around the small home that had served her so well for two years, she stepped out the door.

**-x-**

"Teme, how much longer do we have to tree-jump? This is so boooooring," Naruto whined while dodging a branch.

"Quiet dobe. We reach her home in one more day."

"But we've been traveling for two already. I'm tired."

Sasuke's expression soured. "I'm tired also but we need to hurry. Someone might have reached her first."

"Fine. Let's make this interesting. I'll race ya!"

"No."

"C'mon, it'll be fun."

"We need to conserve our energy if we want to capture the Legend."

"Awww, teme, do you really believe all that stuff. She looks like one blow would down her." Naruto amended quickly after Sasuke shot him a warning look. "Alright, I won't get arrogant. That's your job."

Sasuke glared. "That's not arrogance. That's confidence in my abilities."

Naruto scoffed. "We'll see. I get a go at her first-EH HEY!"

Naruto's eyes widened as Sasuke jumped suddenly at him, the other man's body crashing into his lithe one. They tumbled toward the ground and Naruto's eyes narrowed as he saw a shuriken flash past the spot he was just at.

The two landed gracefully on the ground and shifted immediately into defensive positions, Sasuke's eyes bleeding crimson.

A cloaked figure landed heavily in front of them. Sasuke's sharp hearing picked up uneven breathing and he watched cautiously as the assailant shakily stood up. He could see a sword hilt beneath the cloak and a pouch, although it was lacking the usual amount of weaponry. His sharigan eyes assessed the figure's chakra and he was shocked to see that the attacker's chakra strands were waving gently within her, with no pattern and rhyme, unlike his and Naruto's chakras, which were overlapping each other in an organized pattern.

As he looked closer, he saw that the attacker was injured in the way his chakras did not pulse evenly. They were erratic and lopsided. With a start, he realized the person was injured.

"Hey! Why'd you attack us?" Naruto demanded, irritated at being caught off guard.

There was no answer from the cloaked figure.

"Hey! Are you deaf? I asked you a question," Naruto said.

The man's hand came up and the two others tensed. The pale hand pulled down the hood of the cloak lower and a second later, he was gone.

Both men's eyes widened as they felt the attacker pass them at an impossible speed and the wind ruffle through their hair. Their heads turned back and then up as the assailant moved up to the trees. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he sensed another chakra signature approaching.

Sasuke was the first to move. He darted forward after the cloaked figure.

"Hey, wait for me teme! I want to kick his ass!"

The ebony haired man tossed a kunai aimed at Naruto and the man was forced to stop his pursuit to avoid the weapon.

"HEY! Stop trying to kill me!"

"Dobe, there's someone behind us, probably Sound. Take care of him."

Naruto stopped following and started in the other direction. "Alright fine! I got my radio, so I'll kick ass and meet you up soon," he hollered.

Sasuke smirked and increased his pace, racing after the fleeing figure in the distance.

"Hurry back, dobe. If the Legend is as good as they say, I'm going to need back up."

**-x-**

"Where're you goin'?"

The Sound shinobi immediately stopped and glanced up into the trees, spotting a blonde sporting a fox anbu mask. He cursed under his breath. At this rate, he'd lose the Legend.

"I'll kill you quickly because I'm in a hurry," he spoke.

Naruto scowled. "You're chasing that fellow back there?"

"There is no use in informing a dead man."

Suddenly, the Sound shinobi found a kunai held to his throat and the presence of the blonde man holding him hostage behind him.

"What's that again?" asked Naruto.

He flipped back to avoid a swing of the Sound shinobi's leg and landed gracefully a few feet away. "I am in a hurry also, so tell me and I will kill you quickly."

The Sound shinobi laughed. "You don't know who just passed you there?" As Naruto stayed silent, the shinobi laughed again. "You really are ignorant."

With a flick of the wrist, a kunai flashed at the Sound shinobi but he dodged easily. "Alright, I'll tell you, since you really have no idea."

Naruto waited.

"That was the Legend."

Cerulean eyes narrowed. "No that wasn't. Sasuke wouldn't have gone after her on his own if he knew. He's not stupid."

"Yes, he's probably realized that me and my teammates had already injured her. You are not so bright."

Naruto pushed himself into a flip to avoid being hit by the other shinobi's shuriken. "So if you'll die quickly, I need to be on my way to capture the Legend before your friend does. She won't be able to get very far."

"Sasuke's strong. He can take her."

"Underestimating the opponent is fatal."

Naruto quickly took refuge in the trees as the shinobi applied sound waves to the ground, causing the earth to crack and break. The two shinobi exchanged blows and blocks, neither being able to land a hit on the other. Naruto, starting to become frustrated and anxious on wasting too much valuable time, increased the usage of his chakra.

He threw three shuriken in rapid succession, each aiming straight at the opponent's heart, only to see them all deflected.

Annoyed, Naruto increased his speed and seeing an opening by the Sound shinobi's left side, he struck hard, only to find his attack deflected and his body thrown off course, allowing the other shinobi to stab Naruto with a kunai in the shoulder.

The blonde retreated and pulled the kunai out, barely grimacing. "How did you do that?"

The shinobi smirked. "Vibrations. I have the ability to make the air around me vibrate and I use it as a shield."

Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated his chakras. His eyes snapped open in surprise as white-hot pain shot through his arms.

"You're finished now. You've been poisoned. Using your chakra will only hurt you. It's laughable that you thought you could take on the Legend with your strength. You and your partner are doomed."

Naruto glared at him before closing his eyes. "You talk too much," he said before 10 doppelgangers appeared by his side, all constructing a whirlpool of red and orange chakra in their right hand.

The Sound shinobi's eyes widened in shock.

"Rasengan."

**.**

**.**

**.**

"D-Damn. How did you-"

Naruto stared down at the Sound shinobi. "Underestimating the opponent is fatal."

"Yet, you are doing the same."

"I'm not the one drowning in my own blood," Naruto retorted as he put a hand to his healing shoulder.

The Sound shinobi laughed and then coughed, his expression twisted in pain. "It took 15 of us… six were elite…to only injure her. You… you say your partner can take her."

Naruto plucked a kunai out of his pack and thrust it into the shinobi's forehead, killing him quickly and sparing him from bleeding out and pain.

"Idiot. Konoha shinobi are way stronger than Sound. Sasuke could take 15 himself also."

Yet, as Naruto began his way back toward Sasuke, his heart was more anxious than he was comfortable with. He increased his pace and radioed Sasuke, only to have no reply.

"Be careful, Sasuke."


	2. Chapter 2

"Mikoto, your daughter is lovely."

A slender woman with long, blonde hair and dark blue eyes smiled faintly. "Say thank you."

A small child of four, with unique pink hair bowed respectfully. "Thank you, Tatsuki-san."

The woman with wavy black hair laughed brightly and tussled the little girl's soft hair. Tatsuki was a very outspoken woman and new to the group of friends. She had been introduced to the village when she married a civilian there and moved to their village, bringing her two kids with her. "It's strange though, she looks nothing like you, Mikoto," she noted.

Mikoto's previous peaceful expression became strained. The other women in the circle gasped as the child flinched as she looked down upon the ground, avoiding her mother's gaze. Tatsuki looked around curiously, taking in the other womens' anxious expressions with surprise. There was a heavy pause before Mikoto spoke.

"Yes, she takes after her father."

Tatsuki nodded, her face brightening up again. "Well, I haven't met him yet. Does he know my husband?"

Another woman, Hana, spoke before Mikoto could answer and took Tatsuki's arm. "Tatsuki-chan, come, I'll introduce you to the other mothers, let's leave Mikoto and her daughter to do their errands now."

Mikoto inclined her head slightly toward Hana in gratitude but Hana only turned away sharply.

"Come," Mikoto said to her daughter. The small child bowed and then hurried after her mother.

Tatsuki cocked her head and stared after the two leaving. "That child is so nice. I'd love for her to play with my kids," the little girl heard her say.

The little girl heard Hana-san hush Tatsuki hurriedly before replying. "You'd best keep your little ones away from her, Tatsuki." The group of women moved away and she could hear no more.

Hesitantly, the four year old looked up to her mother, wanting to ask what Hana meant. Instead, she held back her inquiries, recognizing the look in her mother's eyes.

Her mother's beautiful dark orbs held a look pure hatred.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Through sheets and sheets of raindrop tears, I'm looking for the sunshine.

**.**

**.**

**Chapter 2**

As Sasuke continued his pursuit of the Legend, he tried to assess how he was going to confront her once he finally caught up.

It seemed like she was injured, but to what extent, he was unsure. According to his reports, she had never been injured before, so her abilities might be slightly thrown off by the fact that she would have to adapt to fight while sustaining injuries. However, he had no idea what her fighting style was, but she had no idea of his either. She had a sword, similar to his katana, but he wondered if she had ever used it. Tsunade had said she was able to fell her enemies without even getting close which meant she was skilled at fighting from a distance.

What irked Sasuke the most was the Legend's chakra patterns, so different from everyone else's he knew. He surmised that her chakra was the source of her power, what made her so strong. Although, as he was looking at her earlier with his sharigan, he was sure that her chakra passages were compromised somehow so her ability to manipulate chakra would be downplayed by this fact.

Tsunade had warned him not to take on the Legend alone but it seemed he had no choice right now. If he had waited for Naruto, the Legend would have escaped by then.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when the Legend chose to drop to the ground to flee in favor of the dense forest branches up above. Sasuke followed suit and chased after her on the ground, flashing quickly from place to place.

He could tell that she was slowing down; her earlier fast strides had turned more sluggish and he could hear her steps falling more heavily. He surmised that her energy was starting to leave her since she had used up much of it to fight the Sound shinobi. Putting forth an extra burst of speed, he willed his legs to run faster, even as his muscles burned in protest. He was surprised again when the Legend stopped suddenly, causing Sasuke to run past her a little ways, unable to stop himself.

He stopped himself quickly and turned around to face the Legend. The Legend regarded him cautiously, the hood still pulled low over her head so that he could not catch a glimpse of her face.

"So you've gotten tired of running," he said, carefully watching her in case she was planning to ambush him in a moment of surprise. His sharigan flashed on and traced the pattern of her chakras. He was shocked to find that her flow of chakra had completely stopped.

The Legend did not answer, only regarded him carefully, refusing to say anything. It seemed that the reports were right about her not liking human contact. His very presence was alarming to her.

"I am here under Konoha's orders to take you back with me."

The Legend shifted slightly. It seemed she had heard of Konoha.

"We don't mean any harm. We can help you," he said, trying to work on the fact that she had enemies and could benefit from working alongside Konoha. He doubted that she would concede though, otherwise there was no way Tsunade would have taken two of Konoha's best shinobi to bring the Legend back.

Finally, the Legend spoke. "Take off your mask," she ordered, still cautious and untrusting.

Sasuke stilled as a faint memory made its way into his head.

_Take off your mask!_

"Why?" he asked, her voice making him uncomfortable. It was soft and light, too vulnerable for a killer's. It was a voice of someone who would break easily under one single blow of his.

"How else will I know you are of Konoha?" the Legend said as her right hand shifted toward her sword hilt under the cloak. Sasuke took note of this and quickly agreed to her request.

He nodded and took of his wolf's mask. Spiky, ebony hair peaked through and framed a beautiful, pale face with dark, crimson eyes. Slowly, as to not alarm her, he pointed at his forehead protector. Sighing mentally inside his head, Sasuke compared the Legend to one of a frightened animal; he had to act slowly and calmly as to not spook her.

The Legend paused. He really was of Konoha. She rested her hand on her sword hilt and spoke again. "What does Konoha want with me? I have done nothing wrong," her tone suspicious and slightly confused. Really, she had done nothing to Konoha so why were they after her?

"You have killed many shinobi," he said blankly.

Suddenly, her sword was unsheathed and Sasuke crouched immediately into a defensive position, his body tensing at her sudden movement. "That is a lie," she retorted viciously, her expression contorted into one of anger. Her other hand clenched tightly into a fist.

Momentarily stunned by her exclamation, Sasuke raised his hands. "Not of Konoha but of Sound," he said softly. "We are not bringing you back on charges," he assured her.

"I have killed no shinobi," she said again, her eyes narrowing. "Why do you accuse me of doing so?"

Before he could answer, the Legend suddenly shifted to angle her body sideways to his. With a start, he realized Naruto had arrived.

**-x-**

"Hey, teme! Glad to see you're still alive!" Naruto called to Sasuke on the other side of the Legend. Naruto watched as the Legend shifted her body so that she could look at both the two men.

Sasuke mentally rolled his eyes. He watched as Naruto silently assessed the Legend, knowing that if Naruto defeated the Sound, there must have been many more before that particular shinobi if he managed to wound the Legend. Silently, he reminded Naruto to be careful with a meaningful glare.

"Are you going to come with us, Legend?" Naruto demanded.

The cloaked figure grasped the sword tighter. "What?" she asked, incredulous.

Naruto scoffed, his hands coming up and waving carelessly. "Don't try to play dumb, you can't run," he said.

"We know you're the Legend," Sasuke said.

There was a sharp burst of breath from the Legend as she exhaled in frustration. A hand quickly came up to pull down the hood of her black cloak. Long, pink locks cascaded down the figure's back and hard emerald eyes gazed into crimson ones. "Look," she demanded. They did in suppressed surprise at seeing the Legend's face up close. "I am not whoever you are looking for," she said.

Sasuke's eyes widened.

_I like your smile._

"What? You're not the Legend?" Naruto demanded in disbelief.

The woman whipped her angry gaze from Sasuke to Naruto. These two men were crazy, she was sure of it. "I don't know what you're talking about, so if you would just let me pass…"

Naruto gasped as Sasuke recollected himself, pushing the nagging in his mind to the corner of his consciousness. "Dobe, she's not aware she's the Legend."

"Ahhh," Naruto said, nodding. "That makes sense." He turned to the Legend. "Look, chick, you're what the world calls the Legend, though I'm not really sure why. So if you don't come with us back to Konoha, we'll have to see how you earned your name."

"Well the world is wrong because my name is Sakura," the Legend retorted, her brilliant emerald eyes flashing angrily. Really, what was with these two? Did they really think she was a legend? She had stayed out of the public eye for so long, there was no way people knew about her.

Naruto paused, taking in her pink sakura locks. "Oh, that's fitting. I guess you have a real name too. Either way, if you don't come with us, we have to kill you."

Sakura scoffed. "Kill me?" she said in incredulous surprise before laughing weakly. "You're kidding, right? I've done nothing wrong."

"Hn," Sasuke answered. "You are a potential threat against Konoha."

Sakura sighed in frustration, her hands clenching into fists again in anger. "I will not attack Konoha." Naruto's eyebrows rose at her answer, as if there was no way she would ever step foot in Konoha. "I will not attack anyone unless they attack me first, okay? So just leave me alone!" She demanded.

"So you are not going to cooperate?" Sasuke asked, regretting that Naruto and he would have to attack and kill a woman, especially someone as young as them.

Hard emerald clashed with unyielding crimson.

"No."

"Then we are forced to bring you back by force."

"No," she said vehemently.

"Then we will kill you," Sasuke said solemnly.

Sakura closed her eyes. Against her wishes, she felt her chest contract at the thought that more people wanted to kill her. Especially that man. That man with ebony hair and artistic features. He looked so much like someone she knew.

Sakura was in a dilemma, she admitted. She had almost managed to escape unscathed but a momentary hesitation in the battle against the Sound shinobi had caused her to be stabbed with a poisoned kunai. It had done something to her chakras so that she was unable to use it without hurting herself. It had been so tiring to just tree jump, even though she had used the least amount of chakra as she could. There was no way she could use her normal fighting style against these two, according to their masks, they were anbu level. But, she wasn't exactly keen on going back to Konoha. It was true that she'd be safe and she had no enemies there but she had a mission to complete and she did not intend to waste time rotting away in Konoha. She wished that these two shinobi had not been assigned to find her. They were about her age, too young to be fighting and killing. Sakura did not wish to fight them, but, there was nothing else she could do.

Determined emerald eyes opened and they flashed momentarily with pain as she came to her decision.

"You two should not have come together," she said softly, almost sadly. "You should know that assassinations are better carried out by one person."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and Naruto scoffed. "You don't know anything about teamwork. Together, we are stronger."

Sakura shifted slightly. She would end this quickly. She couldn't afford to use much more chakra. Closing her eyes, the injured girl concentrated on her chakra, trying desperately to purge the infected chakras. As she used more chakra, more and more of it got infected but she ignored the pain. Sasuke's eyes widened as he observed what she was doing.

"But together, you are also weaker."

Sasuke frowned, trying to predict her moves. His sharigan had picked up strange movements in her chakra patterns but he could not discern what she was trying to do with them. "Explain," he said, trying to distract her by getting her to talk.

Sakura's eyes opened as she finished preparing her chakra. "Like this."

Before Sasuke could even process what had happened, he felt the cold ice of the Legend's blade being held against his throat. His eyes widened in surprise.

"Shit," Naruto cursed, tensing immediately, his expression panicked. He hadn't even seen her move.

Sasuke stayed very still and tried to look at Sakura out of the corner of his eye. Failing horribly, he tried to comprehend how his sharigan had failed to predict her movements. Tsunade had warned them about her speed. He stayed silent as the Legend spoke.

"Konoha shinobi have more morals than Sound, don't they?" she inquired.

There was no answer, only a tense prolonged silence as Naruto tried to look for an opening.

The Legend smiled sadly. "That is why you are weaker. While it is two against one, you two are trying to protect each other while I only have my own back to watch."

Naruto sneered. "We don't need you to tell us that."

Really, they had been in situations like this before and they had always won because the enemy had attempted to use one against the other like the Legend was doing now. Naruto nodded at Sasuke. With that, Sasuke fell backwards into a back flip, avoiding the swipe of the Legend's sharp katana. He vaulted gracefully over her as she struck at him again while Naruto raced forward to strike at her unprotected back. The blonde man's hand brought down a kunai toward the Legend's spine only for it to slice through thin air. His eyes widened in surprise before his mouth opened in a wide O as a swift kick connected with his stomach. As Sasuke landed and saw Naruto fall, he performed the necessary signs for the katon jutsu. The Legend was already running towards him and he took a deep breath before blowing angry flames of fire at the woman.

His eyes widened as his sharigan saw her chakras sputter and then go out before reappearing in front of him, her cloak discarded. He saw her expression fall as she flew close to him before her hand came up and gently tapped his left shoulder. He struck out at her with his foot, trying to catch her in the kick but missed as she disappeared again, her chakras twinkling out again. The frustrated man turned to see her land behind him and sweep a kick out at him. He jumped in the air to avoid the kick and sent a barrage of shuriken at her, but to his horror, found that he could not use his left arm. She disappeared again only to appear in the air in front of him. At that moment, Naruto was there beside her also and with a swift side swing, he plunged a kunai into her side.

Sasuke smirked before his eyes widened, his sharigan catching on to the threat. The injured Legend poofed into a piece of wood.

"Naruto!"

Naruto turned around; eyes wide to see the blade of the Legend's katana come down.

The sound of swords clanging rang throughout the forest. Sasuke kneeled on the ground; his katana held up to block the blow of the Legend's that would have injured Naruto. Naruto's eyes narrowed, seeing that she was not injured at all from the kunai he stabbed her with. He couldn't find a wound on her anywhere and he wondered if the Sound shinobi had really managed to injure her.

Sakura jumped away, holding her katana up and assessing the situation. They were good. They had forced her to use her chakra more than she wanted too. She could feel the affects of using it already and she struggled to hold onto her head amidst the pain. This was not good. She would have to kill them if she wanted to stop them. There was no was she could destabilize them without using chakra. She had already shut down the dark-haired man's chakra in his arm and that had taken most of her energy. There was no way she could shut down their hearts.

"Please, just let me alone," she pleaded one more time. She didn't want to push herself too far in case the poison did spread too fast and she didn't want to fight the two men.

Naruto rubbed his side. "Sorry, can't do that." He smiled crookedly as he cracked his joints. The Legend was putting on a good fight; Sasuke and he hadn't met a strong opponent in a long time.

She looked at the dark-haired man. "Then you will both die."

Sasuke smirked. "We don't die so easily." With that, he rushed at her, feinting to the right. His katana struck at her left side while Naruto came in from the right.

"Got her, teme!" Sasuke nodded.

"RASENGAN!"

Sakura's eyes widened as she felt the spinning maelstrom of chakra come. She looked up but Naruto's doppelgangers were falling down towards her. There was nowhere to run and she had not prepared her chakra ahead of time. She sheathed her katana quickly.

"Shit," she cursed as she dodged the dark-haired man's swing of the katana, only to come face to face with Naruto's rasengan.

_Mother._

Emerald eyes closed.

_I will find him._

**-x-**

Naruto brought down the rasengan hard into the Legend's stomach. Sasuke's expression hardened as he watched the rasengan hit her. As soon as Sakura felt the burning of the rasengan, she let go of her chakra.

Emerald eyes opened.

Suddenly the rasengan was expelled as soon as it touched her, extinguishing all the doppelgangers in the process. Naruto felt a small hand grasp his in an iron grasp and twist violently, breaking his wrist. Before he could react, he was flung away, his back hitting a tree painfully. He forced his eyes open to see Sasuke not recover in time from his earlier katana swing. With his left arm disabled, there was no way for him to defend himself. The Legend's katana was unsheathed and bearing down on Sasuke.

"NO!" Naruto screamed in panic.

Emerald eyes widened. The sword stuttered to a halt inches from Sasuke's throat.

Sakura stared down in horror at the man. Her mouth opened dumbly as she realized she was just about to kill someone. Sparing no time and thoughts to as why she stopped, Sasuke took advantage of the Legend's momentary hesitation and swung his own katana at her, this time catching her successfully in the side before she jumped away. Sakura clamped a hand to her injured side and rose unsteadily only to collapse. She mentally cursed, she had used too much chakra to expel the rasengan than she could afford to prevent further infection. The poison had caused her internal organs to be damaged, to what extent, she was unsure. Her chest contracted and she succumbed to a painful coughing fit, coughing up blood.

Painfully, she lifted her head to see Sasuke standing in front of her, his uninjured arm raising the katana, poised to strike. She wondered why she stopped herself from killing him at the price of her own life. She couldn't afford to die yet. The injured woman looked down at her bloody hands and her eyes widened.

_Kill me._

…_._

_I like your smile._

Sasuke stared down at the pink-haired woman. Something tugged at the back of his mind, the thing he had been trying to push back. Like last time, he viciously pushed it away. Hand clenching tightly, he plunged the sword down.

Blood sprayed the ground. Naruto gasped.

The Legend had raised her hand to try to stop the katana from cutting her head off. Sasuke's katana had gone right down her right hand, into her arm. Rivulets of blood dripped down her hand. Her pink head was facing the ground so the men could not see her expression. If they could have seen it, they would have described it as one of horror and utter despair.

"My hands are stained."

There was silence as the men stared at her. Her head came up and her eyes rested on the hand speared by the katana.

"You've spilled my blood," she spoke, as if in a daze.

Sasuke withdrew his katana with a wet squelch. Blood spurted from the Legend's hand. He welded it again, and prepared to strike again. Both men watched cautiously as the Legend rose unsteadily, blood dripping from her arm that swung by her side limply. They watched in shock as she raised it and clenched her fist.

The deep wound healed before their very eyes. The broken skin stitched up itself.

Her hand dropped back to her side listlessly. Sakura disregarded the pain blooming inside her body as she used chakra again to mend the sliced muscles and tendons in her hand. Her hands were stained with blood and she couldn't shake off the desire to kill and make the two men bleed.

For the first time, she grinned. It was an unnerving grin, Naruto noted. Almost…wicked.

Her hand came to handle her katana again. She smiled at Sasuke and the man tried to suppress the chills going down his spine. His senses told him that her state of mind had suddenly changed from being on the defensive to now just wanting blood spilled. They told him he was in danger.

"Be careful," she whispered, showing him she was ready to attack.

His eyes widened in panic. In a flash, she was gone. Like the last time she had flown at him, he could not see her. In that split second, his sharigan tried desperately to pick up her chakra signatures but failed. The next instant, she was in front of him and all he could see was brilliant emerald eyes. By then, it was too late.

The katana impaled him.

"SASUKE!" Naruto screamed in anguish as Sasuke coughed up blood. Numbly, the fatally injured boy looked down to the katana embedded in his stomach before his sharigan slowly faded. He heard the Legend gasp softly as reason slowly began to return to her brilliant eyes. There was a soft thud as she dropped to her knees, her hand slipping from the katana. Sakura saw his dark onyx eyes and pale face and suddenly realized why it hurt so much to pierce through him.

"Sasuke-kun?" she whispered.

Onyx eyes widened.

"_Sasuke-kun?"_

"…_you…"_

"_Sasuke-kun, are you okay?"_

…_._

"_Sasuke-kun!"_

"_I'll…kill…"_

"_Sasuke-kun? What-"_

"_I'll kill you."_

_A soft gasp. "S-Sasuke-kun?"_

_An enraged face turned towards the little girl and hands reached out to choke her pale neck._

"_I'LL KILL YOU!"_

Itachi.

_I'll kill you._

"Y-You-" Sasuke whispered.

_Green eyes and a pretty face._

"NOOOO!" Naruto shouted as he dived at Sakura, two chakra tails swirling behind him in his rage. The two of them fell to the ground and Naruto grasped her neck and slammed her head to the ground. His fingers tightened around her pale throat as another chakra tail burst forth from him.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" he screamed as he felt his rage and anguish consume him. His best friend…his brother had fallen. Never during their time fighting the Legend did Naruto even think that they would lose. They always won, _always_.

Sasuke flinched. _"I'LL KILL YOU!"_

He dropped to the ground, the katana still sticking out of his stomach.

_Green eyes and a nice smile._

Sakura did not struggle. The pink haired woman only stared up at the blonde man blankly. She winced as her chest contracted again, her internal organs bruised dangerously. "Sasuke-kun," she whispered again.

Naruto's grip loosened as he gained slight control of himself when he heard her whisper his friend's name. His head whipped back to Sasuke, his eyes anguished and panicked. The sight of his best friend bleeding out made him call out in fear.

"Sasuke!"

The ebony haired man looked up from where he sat at the pink haired woman in Naruto's grip as he sat bleeding his life away.

_Green eyes and a nice smile._

Naruto stared at his friend, worried as all the blood drained from his face. Sasuke's expression was one of confusion and pain. Naruto looked back down to see Sakura lock eyes with Sasuke before she looked back at Naruto.

"He is…Uchiha Sasuke?" she asked.

Naruto stared at her, his hands tightening around her neck again. "Why does it matter?" he hissed. "He's going to die!" he shouted as he willed tears to not appear.

Her emerald eyes fluttered shut tiredly, seeing the man affected so much by his friend's pain.

"No, he won't."

Those words struck a chord of shock throughout him and Sasuke. "Wh-What?" Naruto stammered, his kyubi tails slowly disappearing. Regaining control of himself, he narrowed his eyes. "What the hell are you saying?"

The Legend coughed and winced again before raising to fingers to Naruto's neck. The man felt her fingers tap gently at his pulse before he lost all feeling of his body. He gave a muffled protest as his body went slack, slumping against the Legend's smaller one. Naruto's eyes widened as he tried to will his body to move. She had paralyzed him somehow and now he was helpless to watch the Legend finish his friend off. Painfully, Sakura pushed Naruto's body off hers. Naruto could do nothing as she stood and made her way slowly to the fallen Uchiha. Tired emerald eyes looked down at the ebony-haired man.

"STAY AWAY FROM HIM!" Naruto shouted desperately, struggling in vain against his paralysis. Sakura disregarded his frightened call.

Sasuke saw her smile weakly down at him but her emerald eyes were as brilliant as ever. Long, pink tendrils of hair tickled his cheeks as she bent towards him. Her hand came down.

And then, Sasuke saw no more as his consciousness left him to dream of green eyes and a nice smile, a picture that had escaped his memory for many years.


End file.
